Wednesday, October 1, 2008

At this evenings meeting of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council, there was a discussion regarding the possibility of Roosevelt Island getting our own on site ambulance service. There was confusion regarding whether this was a temporary basing of the ambulance or if it was a permanent stationing. Upon returning home, I learned that an ambulance is now permanently stationed on site at Roosevelt Island and that it already has been of service to a resident.

With new buildings going up and new stores opening their doors, Roosevelt Island has a lot to offer. But it couldn't offer residents their own ambulance, until now.

"We see a growing population and a growing demand for EMS, so we made a decision to place an ambulance out here to ensure we can have appropriate responses to those medical emergencies that occur here on the island," said Emergency Medical Services Chief John Peruggia ....

Within hours of going into service, the unit, staffed by EMTs Jacqueline Summerford and Mike Triolo, received a call for someone who was having difficulty breathing. They were able to arrive on the scene and treat the patient within four minutes.

“To get to any emergency faster is always important to us,” said EMT Triolo.

EMT Summerford, added, “The faster we can get to any emergency, the better it is for everyone.”

2
comments
:

Per the FDNY site linked:"The Basic Life Support (BLS) unit, which is assigned to Station 49 at Mt. Sinai Hospital of Queens, will be stationed at the Island’s bus depot. "

Having the unit as centralized as possible on the island is important but I would have expected the unit to be housed with the FDNY Special Operations Command as opposed to a RIOC site. But closer to the middle is better.

If you read the FDNY site, it states that "It will respond to calls on Roosevelt Island as well as in Queens, when necessary"

This ambulance was just re-deployed from another location. It is not that FDNY assigned or placed into service a "new" ambulance.

As of the time of this posting, there has been NO AMBULANCE stationed on the Island for the last 5 hours, as it has been on another assignment.

This is why Roosevelt Island Search and Rescue (RISAR) is attempting to provide a First Responce Medical Service to the Island, as well as obtaining an Ambulance Operating Certificate so there will ALWAYS be an ambulance dedicated to the RI Community.

Recent Comments

Total Pageviews For Last 7 Days Via Blogger

Roosevelt Island Community Calendar Of Events

WELCOME TO ROOSEVELT ISLAND

Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.